


For the Darkest Day

by OrangeIcebreaker



Category: DC Animated Universe, DCU, Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aya saying sound effects out loud, For Want of a Nail, It Makes Sense In Context, It's comics Blackfire so she's not completely insufferable, Multi, Redemption Arcs, Sciencey Kilowog, Spinning chair shenanigans, That being said she's about 6 feet of red hair and boiling hatred, Yeah Blackfire as in Starfire's sister, world of snark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeIcebreaker/pseuds/OrangeIcebreaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Aya enlists the help of another prisoner when Razer seemingly flees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Down Along the Tracks

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there's an interesting story behind this. I was doing 3 different GLTAS fics -- including the musical -- then I took a good look at myself, wondered what on Earth I was doing, and fused them all into one story to save us all time and energy.
> 
> The fic title is from "Lanterns" by Vexare, which you should listen to. It's great.
> 
> (Fair warning: It starts in the middle of GLTAS episode 3, just after Razer takes off to get his ring. It could be confusing if you haven't seen it in a while.)

It was an unfortunate scenario.

Aya wished her prediction that Razer would likely flee instead of assisting the Green Lanterns had been incorrect, yet he had bolted for the path back to the ship practically as soon as he could.

Now she was all alone in the spider guild prison, just a spark of energy in the wiring with no one to help save Hal and Kilowog...

Except the prisoners.

"Sigh." Aya hummed, pulling up the inmate registry. Surely someone nearby could help.

_ Kieta Tahr of Ungara -- 6 counts of arson _

... Just not them.

_ Janeka Sii of Slyggia -- Patricide, matricide, regicide _

Or them. 

_ N'aw Jqu of H'lven -- 12 counts of murder in second and third degree _

That was an absolute  _ no _ .

_ Komand'r of Tamaran -- Treason _

Well... Treason, while reprehensible, was the least awful crime committed by her nearby options. Tamaranean strength would be useful in escaping if the Green Lanterns had been incapacitated.

Even if this Komand'r did betray them, surely she could not stand before the combined might of both Green Lanterns Kilowog and Hal Jordan.

Satisfied at her logic, Aya rushed down the hall.

 

* * *

The noise made Komand'r want to kill someone.

Jeers. Boos. Roars of " _ Banish her! _ " " _ Execute her! _ " " _ Kill the Kriad'ri! _ "

They didn't even know her.

Yet that wasn't the worst.

No, no. The worst was that behind her, there was  _ cheering. _ In the royal parade, Mama and Papa went first. Then came their firstborn, the heir, the one who would inherit the entire country. Yes, hello, you are  _ here  _ on this little mini-map.

It was as if no one on the planet wanted to even give Komand'r a chance... over  _ her. _

Koriand'r. Starfire. Second-born princess, almost identical to the eldest sister in every way.

But she could  _ fly _ . Apparently, this is the distinction between good and evil for their general public.

" _ Do not let Blackfire rule! _ "

"Wow." She muttered. "Very original."

The guard at her side turned to face her, and Komand'r braced for the telling-off.

"I am assuming that was humor," Droned a woman's monotone voice... From the mouth of her very male guard. "Because that was shouted at least 29 times before I was finally able to gain a foothold in this memory."

Alarmed, Komand'r looked into the guard's face. Nothing had physically changed... Besides the eyes. The  _ blue  _ eyes.

She'd never seen blue eyes before. They were... breathtaking.

"I apologize. I did not introduce myself." Said the strange woman. "I am the Aya program, of the Green Lantern corps. I require your assistance."

Once she recovered from her shock, Komand'r decided that this was a job for biting sarcasm. "The Lanterns need help. From  _ me _ . Alright, fine. What's the plan? Shall we topple a monarchy, or get beaten up by my sister's Earth friends? Fair warning -- I'm more experienced with the latter."

"Neither." Aya replied, seemingly undaunted. "Two Lanterns have been captured by the warden of this prison, and I am unable to free them without another's aid."

Was she for real? Coming to the Traitor of Tamaran, the exiled princess, just to trash some spider guild zealots?

"I... Can help with that." Komand'r acknowledged slowly. "One problem, though. I can't fly."

"Given the nervous damage throughout your body, that is to be expected." Aya made an aborted movement, like she was trying to shrug but didn't know how. "It is a minor setback, but what is more important is your strength and ability to project heat in an offensive manner. You could help many people with that, not just lanterns Hal and Kilowog."

The redhead blinked a few times just to make sure she hadn't devolved into some sort of semi-coherent fever dream. Yet, as much as she blinked, the gorgeous blue eyes stayed resolutely put.

Her?  _ Help people?  _ Without immediately being accused of causing the problem? She hadn't done that since she was a small child.

It sounded... Excellent.

"I will help you without reservation." Komand'r resolved. "For as long as you need me, I will be there, on the condition that I never have to return to my home world."

"Your conditions will be met." Aya said, sounding about as close as a robot voice could bring one to 'delighted'. "Brace yourself -- your cell's floor is at a suboptimal temperature."

"Wait, wha--"

Abruptly, she was ripped out of her own memories and dumped onto a floor that felt like someone had frozen it solid.

"Ack!" She wailed, leaping to her feet.

"I did inform you of the temperature." Aya deadpanned from a nearby control panel.

Komand'r sighed. "I'll have you know that two seconds' warning really isn't  _ informing _ me."

"Unfortunate."

 

* * *

 

 

Hal felt like he was gonna throw up.

It was only natural. Reliving your worst moments is bad enough when you're  _ not _ being dangled upside down by tight spiderwebs. Really, if he vomited, it was the spiders' fault -- didn't they know anything about human anatomy?

... That wasn't the smartest question he'd ever asked, was it.

Also, yeah, Hal would never be able to look at a cobweb again without irrational hatred popping up like a meerkat checking for hawks. You think walking through them is bad? Hoo boy.

Try being the spider's lunch.

Hal wiggled ineffectually as one of Myglom's cronies made its way down the string holding him. It looked like this might be the end --

Then his would-be predator got blasted away by a flash of what looked like a club's blacklight. Startled, he looked to the entrance.

A woman with orange skin and long red hair was currently blasting the bajeezus out of everything. Her black skinsuit looked like it had been through one hell of a beating.

"You claimed to be able to  _ rehabilitate  _ prisoners!" She snarled. "You eat from a banquet of deceit!"

... Banquet?

"And you! Lanterns!" Hal and Kilowog both stared up at the crazy laser woman in alarm. "I'll free you as soon as I finish taking out the garbage!"

Oh. So she was  _ good  _ crazy. Real comforting.

She leaped down from the ledge and into the midst of the spidery business. The one nearest to Crazypants got kicked across the room.

"... What." Kilowog said flatly, accurately summarizing the entire situation.

Crazypants tossed one spider into another like they were ragdolls, laughing as they collapsed in a heap of pain and confusion.

Myglom, who had apparently been launched across the cave at some point, was beside himself. "Who allowed Komand'r to go free?!" He cried.

Commander. Nice to know that Crazypants had a name.

At that moment, Razer burst in very dramatically. He cut the cobwebs holding Hal and Kilowog in place in one fluid movement, and they dropped harmlessly to the webs below.

"Good to see you, kid." Hal grinned. "You're a little late, though."

Razer nodded, then processed what Hal actually said and looked over the edge.

"...What." He said flatly.

"That's Commander. She's got lasers."

"My name is  _ Komand'r _ !" The aforementioned Crazypants corrected, punching a spider right in the mandible.

Looking rather off-put, Razer leaped down and started taking care of the spiders that were trying to flank Commander. Hal winked at Kilowog and promptly joined them.

He ducked under the first punch thrown his way, hopped over a spear stab, and otherwise wove through the battlefield in order to get to his main goal -- Myglom.

Judging by the Kilowog noises overwhelming the room, the rest of them were just about handled.

Once he got to Myglom, he smirked. The coward was trying to  _ run. _

This was gonna be fun.

"Going somewhere?" He said nonchalantly.

"Oh, no, Green Lantern!" He replied, tone deceptively affable. "I was merely --"

Giving up on his own excuse, Myglom lunged.

Two punches in quick succession on either side. Hal dodged both, then returned with his own punch... Which nearly broke his hand, because spiders have  _ exoskeletons _ .

Hal didn't have time to berate his own lack of common sense, because a harsh left hook knocked him back. He stumbled, then righted himself and braced for another hit. Myglom abandoned hand-to-hand, jabbing his staff at the Lantern.

Mistake.

Hal sidestepped, grabbed the staff, and yanked up. He'd been right about the fragility of the spiders' hands, as it came free with little resistance.

Myglom had about half a second for realization to dawn before Hal slammed the staff into his head and knocked all four feet out from under him.

"I've been kicking butt long before I ever got that ring." Hal boasted in his best drill sergeant voice. "And I've been squashing bugs even longer."

At that instant, light-years away, Animal Man felt an inexplicable urge to inform somebody that spiders weren't bugs, they were  _ arachnids _ .

Back in the land of relevance, Commander was getting visibly exhausted with her own fight against the seemingly endless wave of spiders. Her hand beams seemed less like club blacklights and more like the weak glow of a dying fire. Kilowog seemed on the verge of being overwhelmed.

And Razer?

Razer was practically ripping the battlefield apart. Any enemy got too close, they got rage-whipped to unconsciousness before you could say "Grumpy".

Just as Hal sprinted back into the main fray, the kid apparently decided he'd had  _ enough _ . He roared, slamming his hand to the ground. A wave of red energy crashed over the battlefield, knocking spiders around willy nilly.

Hal braced for impact, but it just rolled over him like a warm breeze.

The battle was... Over.

Huh.

Razer was panting heavily, shield flickering like rolling flame. He looked to Hal and Kilowog, then raised his ring hand.

His other hand came up just as Kilowog was bracing for a fight. Slowly, deliberately, he reached up to his ring -- and quickly ripped it off.

Howling, Razer collapsed to his knees... Then held the red ring out to them.

Stunned, Hal went over to him and took it with one hand, using the other to pull him to his feet.

"That was great, kid!" Hal cheered, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Razer wheezed, panting heavily. "Sorry I... Was late... Had to get the ring. Couldn't fight wi... Without killing... Otherwise."

Commander limped over, waving. "Well." She huffed. "That happened."

"Yep." Kilowog said. "You did good, kid. Where'd you even come from?"

"A robot woman -- Aya, I think? -- broke into my memories and asked for help. She was really quite nice about it." The redhead sat down on the least spikey rock she could find. "I assume you're Hal, the other's Kilowog?"

_ Um _ .

"So you're a prisoner. And Aya busted you out." Kilowog clarified, looking a bit like he was going to go on a screaming rampage. "And you think  _ I'm  _ that skinny beanpole over there."

"I'm not a beanpole!" Hal protested.

"Oh! So  _ you're _ Kilowog and  _ he's  _ Hal. Sorry." Commander dimpled at them like she hadn't even heard the first bit.

A pause. Commander sighed heavily. "Fine." She conceded. "I've been imprisoned here for a long time, okay? And yeah, I deserved the lockup, but I want to help you."

Kilowog scoffed, but Hal hummed thoughtfully. "What did you do?" He asked. "And are you willing to make up for it?"

"I... Chose the wrong side in a war." She ground out. "We won, but afterwards, they... I should have known the Tamaraneans wouldn't keep their end of the treaty. And I  _ will _ make up for it. I'll prove that I can, if you give me a chance."

"Alright then! It's settled." Hal grinned broadly as he spoke. "You're both coming with us."

"...  _ What. _ " Kilowog and Razer said simultaneously. 

"Yep, you too, Razer."

He took a moment to revel in the stunned looks on everyone's faces.

At least no one could claim he was boring.


	2. When Gravity Pulls You In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew has a ship to save.
> 
> Komand'r has a chair to spin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I'm so sorry this took so long. X_X In between homework, illness, and even a power outage, I really haven't been able to work on this like at all.

Trying to keep the peace between Komand'r, Razer, and Kilowog was a bit more difficult than Hal first thought.

Razer and Kilowog had to have three separate talks on the importance of  _ not _ murdering your teammates. Komand'r didn't try and start any fights, but she had some sort of endless well of snide remarks for anyone that wasn't Aya... And a weird fondness for spinning on her chair, which apparently was some sort of instant-annoyance button for Razer.

Shenanigans like this are why Hal didn't babysit when he was a teen.

In fact, he was in the middle of trying to explain to Komand'r that arm wrestling with Kilowog was A Bad Idea, complete with capital letters, when they walked in on the drill sergeant pulling Razer across the table by the collar, both of them looking murderous.

"Hey, hey, hey hey!" Hal scolded, hurrying to pull them apart. "Kilowog! Break it up! You too, Razer --" He gave the red lantern a minute to climb off the table, then pointed accusingly at his crewmates. " -- What did I say about killing each other?"

"Not enough, clearly." Komand'r deadpanned, sliding into the seat to Razer's left. Hal decided to ignore her little bout of insubordination, fixing Kilowog with a glare instead.

"Aw, c'mon, Hal, we're just fooling around!" Kilowog said with a nonchalant shrug, quickly dropping the pretense to instead glower at Razer. " _ Right _ ?"

Razer's response was to try to stab Kilowog with his eyes.

"This ship's too small for this nonsense." Hal asserted, trying to emulate his mom's ' _ I'm-right-because-I'm-the-grown-up-so-suck-it _ ' tone. "I want you two to shake hands. It's an Earth custom to show there's no hard feelings."

They joined an unimpressed Komand'r on the couch while Hal continued to cajole. "Come on, shake hands." He urged.

Kilowog and Razer, in complete unison, raised their fists and shook them at each other. Komand'r stifled a laugh behind her hand.

Hal took a moment to wonder what he'd been expecting, then seized Kilowog's wrist and Razer's hand, pressing them both to the table.

"... Not. Like that." He grumbled, but before he could teach them how handshakes are supposed to go, he was interrupted.

"Attention." Aya chimed in, her little bubble thing descending from its slot on the ceiling. "Incoming distress call."

Immediately, she beamed a hologram of a chubby little bearded man onto the table. Komand'r leaned awkwardly around Razer to see.

"This is Captain Goray, of the container ship Trouvadon." He fretted urgently, voice shaking. "I've struck a pinhole, and am unable to proceed! One of my engines has failed; the other is at full power but is just slowing the inevitable. I need help!"

"Aya, hold the transmission." Kilowog instructed. When she turned the hologram into a thin beam, he turned to look at the pilot. "Could be a trap, Hal. We get there, the disabled ship opens up, and Reds start pouring out!"

"There are no Red Lanterns in this sector." Razer disagreed. "It's not a trap."

"How do  _ you  _ know?!" Kilowog growled. 'Accusatory' wasn't strong enough to cover Kilowog's tone, but Hal couldn't think of a better term.

"I was in charge of setting those traps." Razer replied coldly.

"But that was over a week ago, yes?" Komand'r quizzed. "Atrocitus could have found another person to set up ambushes by now."

Razer shook his head. "Atrocitus takes these decisions very seriously." He explained. "It will take at least another two weeks to find someone to take my place. He runs tests of skill, of strength, of construct durability... And this isn't even considering technical training."

Komand'r tilted her head thoughtfully, then looked to Hal. "It's up to you, then."

Hal nodded, then waved the transmission open. "This is Hal Jordan, of the Green Lantern Corps." The pilot greeted. "Sit tight, Trouvadon. We're on our way."

When the transmission closed, all four crew members immediately sprinted to the cockpit. Hal hauled the ship around and started heading in the direction Aya indicated.

"Alright, I got two questions." Hal began. "A -- How far are we from the pinhole?"

"One-point-eight terra quads and closing." Aya replied.

"Which brings me to B." The pilot continued. "What's a pinhole?"

To Hal's surprise, Razer answered instead. "It's a microscopic black hole at the center of a whirlpool of energy. The closer that ship gets to the pinhole, the stronger gravity becomes."

"The point at which the gravity is strongest is called the event horizon." Komand'r added. "Nothing that's gone past an event horizon has ever come back out that we know of, so mind the pit."

On that happy note, the ship continued on in silence.

* * *

Razer was unsure what he had expected of a pinhole, but the gravitational field seemingly emitting pink light definitely wasn't it.

His brief reverie of staring and wondering what the pinhole could possibly be pulling in that naturally glows pink was, unfortunately, interrupted. He decided to sideline that thought until the immediate peril had passed.

"That's close enough, Aya, we don't want to get sucked in too." Jordan commanded. "Deploy the tractor beam."

Razer opened his mouth to explain that, given the Interceptor's proximity to the pinhole's gravitational pull and the effect this would have on any nearby aiming instruments, that was a terrible idea. He didn't need to, however, as the beam was abruptly ripped off course and plunged into the abyss.

He took a moment to mourn the senseless loss of perfectly good photon particles.

"Anomalous gravitational readings are affecting my instruments." The computer noted, exercising its unsurpassed talent for stating the obvious. "Unable to compensate."

Jordan gave a thoughtful frown, then seemed to have an idea. "Captain, do you have any tow cables?" He asked.

"Deploying them now!" Goray hollered. Indeed, three tow cables shot out of the bottom of the ship. Unfortunately, gravity happened, and the cables began pulling the Trouvadon toward the pinhole even faster.

"Ah..." The fool had the nerve to laugh. "Missed."

Apparently not bothered by this show of bad judgement, Jordan stood. "We'll have to go out there and attach the cables to the Interceptor manually." He ordered, moving towards the exit. "Komand'r, stay here and monitor the systems."

"Alright, have fun out there." She said, once again spinning in her chair like a child. "I'll just be in my chair. Not able to fly. At all."

The oafish sergeant made an aggravated noise as he and Razer headed toward the ship's exit hatch. "Anomalous gravity always puts a bug in my britches." He complained.

"If you don't think you're up to the task --" Razer began, trying to avoid mocking him and failing.

"Just try to keep up, Red!" Kilowog interrupted. "Green Lanterns  _ train _ in variable gravity. Let's see how  _ you  _ fly when you weigh a thousand kilos. Then six thousand. Then two thousand."

Razer scoffed. He knew what to expect from the gravitational pull of a pinhole down to the twelfth decimal. Compensating surely couldn't be that difficult.

"This is a dangerous undertaking." The computer noted. "Why are we risking three lives to save one?"

Jordan began saying something surely very noble and inspiring, but Razer was a bit more concerned with getting to the tow cable before the bearded idiot was compressed into nothingness.

The only problem was his apparent overestimation of just how ready he was to deal with the pinhole's pull. He and the Green Lanterns had to battle with their rings every inch of the way in order to stay relatively stable.

"Quite -- A downdraft!" He ground out, keeping his voice as even as he could.

While he'd been hoping for Jordan to make a witty remark on the subject -- anything to distract from his ring attempting to burn its way off his finger -- Kilowog was the one who spoke.

"That's down _ draw _ ." He snapped. "If you don't make it over this gravity whirlpool, you're dark matter!"

Well, at least the thought of imminent demise didn't cause pain. Maybe then he'd join Ilana in some form of afterlife.

Razer wondered if she'd forgive him for all he'd done. He certainly didn't deserve it.

He was dragged out of his macabre train of thought by the realization that spaceship tow cables are  _ incredibly  _ heavy. He made it about a meter before the blasted thing and his ring teamed up to bring him stuttering to a halt.

If it wasn't his only chance at redemption, Razer would throw his ring into a lake somewhere. Then he'd design a tow cable that wasn't ridiculously heavy and would actively participate in rescue team shenanigans.

Suddenly, a warm hand grabbed onto his arm. Jordan was there, smiling and pulling Razer alongside him.

Razer was torn, because on one hand, he owed the pilot his life more times over than he could possibly repay.

On the other hand, he was getting help from a  _ greeno _ . He could practically hear Zox and Bleez mocking him now.

Apparently Kilowog had flown ahead of both of them. Jordan gave the sergeant a brief, but withering glare as they flew to the ship. Razer wasn't sure why someone so friendly would suddenly scowl at a companion, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Jordan released Razer's arm about the same time that Razer recognized his help was the friendliest contact he'd had since Ilana died.

Once they connected the cords to the Interceptor, Jordan activated his ring's radio. "Alright, ladies, let's haul this baby up!"

"The gravity's too strong!" Komand'r argued, the transmitter turning her voice tinny. "In between the downdraw and our current inertia, there's no way we could get the ship away from the pinhole."

"It's stable for now," Kilowog warned, "But sooner or later, I'm telling you, it's going in!"

"We'll have to get the captain ourselves." Jordan decided, immediately turning to fly to the ship. Razer and Kilowog followed close behind.

Unfortunately, the airlock wasn't designed to hold two people and a gigantic oaf. Kilowog elbowed him (for the second time that day, one might add) directly into Jordan's back, and when the door finally opened, they collapsed into a pile on the floor.

Razer removed his face from where it had been pushed into Jordan's shoulder and glowered at the Bolovaxian currently resting a good portion of his weight on Razer's leg. To the surprise of no one, Kilowog glared right back.

He slid his hand across Jordan's back, pulled him off the floor a bit, then got to his feet and walked down the hall. He noted the wiring was standard to a freighter, which was a relief, and used the cords to try and find his way to the cockpit.

"Down here!" The bearded idiot cried, effectively gaining the attention of all three Lanterns. Immediately, they flew to his side.

"Thank the Gol-mother you're here!" He squeaked, stepping away from the ladder that presumably led to the cockpit. "I'm at half power and have no way to pull myself out."

"Exactly what are you hauling?" Jordan questioned, putting his hands on his hips and frowning slightly.

Kilowog inspected a refrigeration unit, then turned back toward them. "Some kind of eggs?"

"Leave them." The captain dismissed. "With the refrigeration out, they're going to spoil anyway."

"Spoil?" Kilowog repeated incredulously. "It's only a matter of time before these things hatch!"

"... Hatch?" The bearded idiot asked blankly.

Jordan pulled an egg out and began examining it cautiously. "I can't tell what's in here." He muttered, seeming to suffer the delusion that it actually mattered.

"Who cares?" Razer demanded. "Only vermin and insects hatch from eggs."

Kilowog glowered at him. " _ I  _ hatched from an egg." He snarled.

"My point exactly." The Red Lantern shot back venomously.

Kilowog took a step towards Razer, growling, but Jordan stopped him by barking "Ease up." at both of them. If he was going to add anything else, it was lost due to the computer interrupting.

"The Trouvadon's logs identify them as Svegnarians." It reported. "They are incredibly rare after their planet was devastated by volcanic activity." 

"So these are some sort of last-ditch colony?" The pilot asked.

"I suppose so." Mused the little fool, who was apparently incapable of reading his own ship's logs. "I was paid to avoid major shipping lanes."

Oh, of course. Ordinary routes that pose no real danger? Don't go near those, just go past the incredibly dangerous  _ gravitational pit  _ instead. Razer tamped down on the urge to smack something.

"Well, you sure did that." Jordan deadpanned, putting the egg back. His tone flipped from casual to authoritative. "Change of plans -- we're going to rescue every life form here."

"It's a waste of time." Razer protested. He failed to see how an unborn species of vermin could be worth risking the life of two Green Lanterns who were working to save the galaxy. It was pointless.

"He's right!" The captain agreed in an uncharacteristic fit of logic. "The starboard engine's dead."

"Then we'll restart it." Jordan replied levelly, striding toward the captain. "I'll get the civilian clear."

Razer felt a stab of annoyance shoot through his gut, which was apparently shared by Kilowog -- The drill sergeant asked "You're leaving me with  _ him? _ " In a tone that suggested he'd rather trample through a sewer barefoot.

"You two need some bonding time." Jordan insisted. Razer was beginning to think that Jordan's common sense had escaped him and latched onto the bearded idiot.

Alas.

* * *

Komand'r was bored.

Bored. Bored.  _ Bored. _

She hadn't joined the Green Lanterns' little adventure squad to act as mission control. Yet, there she was, stuck in the ship because her lack of flight had yet again decided to laugh in her face.

At the very least, Aya had mentioned she had a plan to rectify the flight situation. "For both of us", she'd said.

Which was odd, because Aya was a  _ spaceship _ .

In the meantime, however, all she had to keep her busy was a chair that could  _ pivot. _ She marveled at the creativity of the levitating seat once again -- on Tamaran, even the royalty only had seats of stone or wood -- and began to spin in place.

Spinny, spinny, spinny.

She wondered how the crew was doing.

Spinny, spinny, spinny.

Hopefully Razer and Kilowog hadn't killed each other yet. Komand'r was pretty sure they just needed a good, clean spar to get their frustration out, but Hal was oddly opposed to the idea.

Spinny, spinny, spinny.

Just when Komand'r was beginning to wonder why it was taking so long to get one civilian clear, she heard the elevator come up.

"I've heard of you Green Lanterns." Goray said, voice carrying to the cockpit. "I know you're brave and all, but you're crazy to go back."

"Brave, crazy..." Hal sighed. "It's a fine line."

Aya and Hal had a brief conversation that Komand'r mostly tuned out, because her under-armor suit had somehow gained yet another tear. She made a disparaging noise, then started trying to adjust the rip on the shoulder without a repair kit.

"Aya, once this is over, could we stop on a nearby planet and get some clothing that isn't falling apart for me?" Komand'r grumbled after a few minutes of predictably poor results.

"You should discuss that with Green Lantern Hal Jordan." Aya replied dutifully. "And while you are in contact with him, perhaps you could inform him of the plans I have to preserve power above the ship. I will provide you with a list if you wish to assist."

"Fair enough." The redhead agreed, activating the intercom as a little holographic list popped up beside her.

Three responses of varying enthusiasm crackled over the radio.

"Do you think we could save power on the ship if we cut the heating though the ship?" She quizzed, looking at the first suggestion on the list.

A scoff from one line indicated that Razer didn't like the idea, which didn't bother Komand'r very much, because Razer didn't like anything.

"You do realize we're in  space , yes?" He sneered. "If we cut the heating, the  _ absolute zero  _ temperatures will freeze the deactivated engine in short order, and unless everyone here suddenly has extensive engineering training, attempting to start it will result in an explosion that would be nothing short of  _ spectacular. _ Besides, we were going to attempt to save the little vermin, yes? How long do you think they would survive without any form of heat?"

That... Was a good point, actually. A good point that Aya evidently disagreed with.

"Svegnarians are durable enough to exist briefly in a vacuum and indefinitely in absolute zero temperatures, as Kryptonians and Tamaraneans are." She argued. "Frozen engines can be started with ease if one activates the antifreeze systems first, then manually starts each other system."

"Which, again, would take a team of engineers." Razer repeated. "Unless you can find several more technicians, this plan would fail in seconds."

A momentary pause as Aya seemed to consider what he said. "More technicians." She mused. "Parameters set."

Suddenly, the little orb that indicated where Aya was looking vanished. The lights dimmed. Komand'r's wonderful levitating chair remembered that gravity applied to it, sending her crashing to the floor.

"What just --" Komand'r sputtered, launching to her feet. "Aya?!"

"Koma? What happened?!" Hal demanded.

"Aya went offline!" She hissed, not even caring that she'd just been called  _ Koma _ , frantically searching for the files that had contained her friend. "The engine must still be running, or we'd be plummeting right now, but she's just! Gone!"

Goray sprinted into the cockpit, obviously panicking. "Start the engine now, or both ships are going in!" He squeaked.

She paused her panicked search, squinting at the captain (who, upon further inspection, bore a striking resemblance to the human myth called 'Santa'). "The engine is on. Only the lights and the chairs are down."

"O-oh." Goray stuttered sheepishly. "Sorry. Carry on."

It was like Aya had up and left. Her AI core, her backup systems, even her recent information cache had disappeared from the ship's database.

Wait.

Oh.

_ Oh. _

"Well, boys, brace yourselves." Komand'r grumbled, smacking her forehead with her palm and generally feeling ridiculous. "You're about to have company."

* * *

 

Controlling multiple bodies, small though they may be, was an odd experience.

Not difficult, per se -- though difficulty wouldn't stop her. Just  _ odd _ .

Aya launched herself out of the Interceptor in the form of some robotic parts she had been constructing, fought her way past the pinhole's gravitational pull, and slipped through an airlock. Approximately 16.6 minor errors in motor control over the unfamiliar body occurred per minute. Two major errors resulted in the midriff piece being lost to the pinhole and the chest piece skittering in the wrong direction and startling a recently-hatched Svegnarian.

Trial and error lead her to the heating wires, and from there, the engine room.

Aya soon discovered that the crew had been made aware of her consciousness being transferred from the ship. While she and Razer worked to repair the engine, she set aside a piece of her mobile form at Green Lantern Hal Jordan's request to listen to his lesson on the importance of communication with one's teammates.

Armed with the knowledge that the crew cannot always predict her thoughts, and disappearing without informing someone tends to "Scare the bajeezus out of everybody" (sic), Aya felt more ready than ever to be a Green Lantern.

She set the Trouvadon's engines in reverse, then contacted Komand'r to make sure the Tamaranean did the same. 

They were halfway out of the anomalous gravity zone when it dawned on Aya that communication probably included noting that the Svegnarians were hatching.

What ensued was approximately thirty Earth minutes of searching for hatchlings before they came to harm.

Speaking of harm, Komand'r had no reason to believe Aya had sustained damage, yet when everyone returned to the Interceptor, she immediately began inspecting each robotic component for signs of breakage. She expressed neither fear nor anger through her words.

Organic life forms made no sense.

* * *

Honestly, Razer  _ never  _ wanted to see another cargo ship. Or inexplicably pink pinhole. Or Svegnarian.

All he wanted was to eat his steak in peace.

The door to the common area slid open. Kilowog strode past with his overfilled bowl of grubs yet again, yet he avoided elbowing the back of Razer's head.

He  _ did, _ however, faceplant directly into his food yet again.

Razer politely ignored it.

After a few moments, Kilowog surfaced. "You did a good job with that engine today, poozer." He noted, wiping his mouth with one hand."

"Thank you." Razer replied quietly. "Though I can hardly take all the credit. The computer rebooted the systems --  I just repaired the wiring."

The doors slid open again. Komand'r and Jordan moved to join them.

"Without Aya, we'd all be feeling pretty cramped right now." Jordan chimed in, sliding into the seat next to Razer. He pointed at the computer's optic system in the ceiling. "But I'm not done with the talk we had on the ship! We need to set a few parameters, young lady."

"A Green Lantern protects innocent life, even at the risk of their own, correct?" The AI questioned. If Razer didn't know better, he would say that its tone was thoughtful.

"Wait, wait a minute." Kilowog raised his hand to halt the computer, brow furrowing. "Aya, you  _ do  _ understand you're a NavCom, not a Green Lantern, right? You can't be a GL."

"Why not?" It asked, which was actually a very good question, seeing as the Red Lanterns had a murderous housepet that was far less qualified to wield ring power than a computer with deductive reasoning skills.

"Well... First off, the ring's gotta pick you." Kilowog sputtered.

"Why?" The AI questioned.

Kilowog glanced desperately at Jordan. "Help me out." He muttered urgently.

"Oh, no, I wanna hear this." The pilot replied, clearly amused.

"Ergh." Kilowog squirmed, then looked at Razer. "Red?"

Razer allowed a smirk to cross his face. "Leave me out of this."

As Jordan beamed at Razer, Kilowog turned to his immediate left, where Komand'r was grinning widely. "Koma?" He pleaded.

"I'm hardly qualified." She said wryly, holding up her ringless hands. "But apparently everyone is calling me 'Koma' now."

"It's a nickname! It's how we show familiarity or friendship." Jordan cajoled. "You don't have to have one, but --"

"No, it's alright." She interrupted, expression softening. "I just didn't expect it."

Kilowog cleared his throat, then looked up at the AI's optic. "Look." The sergeant huffed, "Green Lanterns positively gotta have a physical body to... To walk around and interact with people! Not a bunch of creepy bugs!"

"Parameters set." It responded, and Razer definitely wasn't imagining the self-satisfaction in its tone.

The optic system returned to its resting position, and above them, something opened up. The AI's robotic parts fell to the table.

Two small segments became feet. Longer segments latched on, becoming legs, a pelvis, a torso, arms... Then the entire metal skeleton filled with green light, covering the wires with what appeared to be a completely solid light construct.

Its engineering was nothing short of remarkable.

"A body like this?" The AI asked, giving Kilowog a quizzical glance. Razer noted that it seemed to have adapted the ability to make facial expressions with more than a little awe.

Kilowog groaned, facepalming, failing to notice the fact that Komand'r's jaw seemed to have involuntarily dropped.

"I think so." Jordan managed.

The computer nodded, then sat between Jordan and Komand'r. "Then I have met all requirements to become a fully-fledged Green Lantern." It said, ignoring Kilowog's sputtering.

Razer slowly began to realize he probably would never have a peaceful meal again.

Even worse, he realized he didn't actually mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was fun! I enjoyed toying with the narrative here. The next chapter is going to start with Kilowog, so don't worry, everyone will get their turn.
> 
> Chapter title from "Gravity" by Hollywood Undead, because it's the least romantic song pertaining to gravity I could find. A pinhole would be a terrible place for a first date.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was an adventure! Koma is a brat
> 
> For the record, Komand'r is pronounced "COH-man-der" instead of "cuh-MAN-der". Hal knows the difference, but refers to her as Commander anyway because why not
> 
> Chapter title from "Long Train Runnin'" by Doobie Brothers


End file.
